Cryptocurrency games are frequently demonized for being “bad,” “boring,” or even “scams.” Nevertheless, millions of people play these games every day.
According to a DappRadar investigation, in 2023, gaming with cryptocurrencies accounted for more than one-third of all Dapp activity on all chains. These figures suggest that the cryptocurrency gaming sector is maturing and becoming more and more of a dominant force.
Why Is Crypto Gaming So Well-liked?
My Opinion on Crypto Games: A Source of Money or an Addiction?
I have been a keen observer of the cryptocurrency market for many years. I’ve also spent a fair amount of time playing cryptocurrency games during this process.
I will concede that there are arguments that cryptocurrency games can be “boring,” but I also think that they can be quite thrilling.
How do cryptocurrency games operate?
Users are drawn to cryptocurrency games by the possibility of asset ownership, the play-to-earn mechanism, and the chance to explore the web3.
I had the exact same experience in 2022 with a polygon-based game named Sunflower Land.
In the play-to-earn agricultural game Sunflower Land, users can grow, tend to, and sell crops. Special in-game NFT items are available for collection and can be sold on NFT marketplaces such as Opensea. Users can exchange the in-game currency SFL for other cryptocurrencies on decentralized marketplaces.
Still, in retrospect, I think it was a fantastic experience. I doubt that I would have contributed to liquidity pools on decentralized exchanges, used NFT marketplaces like Opensea, discovered how gas fees vary based on the volume of data uploaded to the blockchain, or realized how much more affordable and quicker rival blockchains were than Ethereum had it not been for Sunflower Land.
It has been about a year since I last played Sunflower Land. But as long as I have access to my connected cryptocurrency wallet, I can resume playing whenever I want, thanks to the power of blockchain.
The most intriguing thing is that I can sell my in-game NFTs on Opensea and get more than $100 if I decide to quit the game entirely. On web2 games like EA FC 24 or Fortnite, is it possible to do that? Most likely not.
The main attraction of cryptocurrency games, according to more than 76% of 536 blockchain gamers surveyed, is asset ownership. This underscores the substantial advantages that these games present to players.
Gaming on Cryptocurrencies Is Not Dead
Now let’s look at some statistics to back up the claim that cryptocurrency gaming is still popular and growing.
After all, with the failure of well-known metaverse projects like Decentraland (MANA) and Sandbox (SAND) to live up to expectations, many observers of the cryptocurrency market assume that the enthusiasm surrounding blockchain gaming has subsided.
The overall number of active user wallets for blockchain games has increased over the past year, from roughly 623,000 in late July 2023 to 2.83 million on July 24, 2024, according to onchain data provided by DappRadar.
What Causes People to Become Fixated on Crypto Games?
It’s critical that you understand the dangers associated with crypto gaming if you want to investigate the possibility.
Play-to-earn video games do not ensure financial gain. In the end, when I played cryptocurrency games in the past, I spent more money than I made. To be fair, I didn’t play those games to get money; rather, I did it to learn more about the Web3 environment.
There is a chance that the commercialization of gaming will lead to a harmful dependence on cryptocurrency games.
Cryptocurrency and gambling addiction are similar behavioral addictions, with individuals risking money for immediate gratification. Addiction may involve seeking high-sensation activities, lacking impulse control, low resilience, and poor coping skills, as per the Addiction Center.
The bottom line
Crypto gaming offers a fun and engaging way for users to learn about cryptocurrencies and blockchains. However, the hyper-financialization of these games has reduced focus on gameplay and story, making most of them “boring.” It’s important to enjoy the experience and explore the crypto world, not just for earning crypto.
